Noah
by Insert Witty Name Here
Summary: It all began with Noah...Oneshot R&R - NOT slash!


This was stuck in my head right after that episode. Hope you like it, let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: By now, these things are just cruel reminders that we own nothing.

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It all began with Noah.

His mother tried to heal him, to put a stop to his incessant hunger. He failed her in his first assignment. Such a powerful use of sound and he couldn't stop himself - couldn't stop Sylar from taking it. He thought after returning to his cell that he would be locked up forever. He was qutie happy with that thought. No temptation, no chance to fuel his hunger even further. In truth, it only made him crave more with each person he stole powers from. He called it a hunger but it was no better than an addiction. And other junkies get locked up, so why not him as well?

He was only in his cell for two days before Noah walked in and handed him his suit and shoes.

"Stop moping and get dressed. We have another assignment." Noah walked out leaving him baffled and amused. The assignments were easier this time around. There wasn't the excitement and fear and energy that there had been at the bank.

Find the person.

Question them.

Kill; Lock up; Threaten; Leave them be. Whatever the situation called for.

There had been no leads on Knox. Noah had a theory that he was in some war-torn country, feeding off the people's fear.

After a month of Sylar being "clean" he was allowed a bedroom on the top floor. It was a vast change from his previous home in the company's basement. There was a small kitchen, a master bedroom and an inviting living room. It was very quaint and normal for him. He hadn't stayed in one place since...since mother died.

It was not long before he fell into the routine that his new job offered. Noah had so much to teach him that he realized he had gone days at a time without thinking of the craving. When he first realized this he also recalled that no one called him Sylar anymore. Noah always called him Gray, keeping up his professional persona. He didn't see much of Angela Petrelli, but when he did it was always Gabriel that she addressed. Sylar and Gabriel were always two people, but he refused to be Gabriel in the past. Now he found refuge in himself. Gabriel wasn't as weak to the hunger as Sylar. Gabriel wasn't as manipulative or cruel. However, there was a grain of truth in everything and this was no exception. It simply came out in ways that were entertaining rather than murderous.

On one particular trip, Noah had forced him to drive 10 hours straight while he napped in the passenger seat next to him. The ache in his back and legs told him he would severely regret this trip later. So at the next stop, Gabriel got himself and Noah each a coke and sandwich. The station attendant probably thought he was crazy when he started shaking Noah's like he was making martinis.

Oh, the look on Noah's face when he popped the can open and soda sprayed all over his new suit along with his side of the car. That was the first time Gabriel had ever genuinely laughed at something. It was luck that they were stopped at a red light. He was doubled over trying hard not to let out the cackles he was trying to squelch. When he finally wiped away the tears of laughter he saw Noah staring at him with a mix of anger and surprise. Gabriel will be the first to tell you that Noah Bennet is not easily surprised (that or he's very good at covering it).

"You're paying for the dry cleaning bill." Noah tried to say it with menace but Gabriel could see the smile in his eyes.

It was almost too perfect the way things had been going. Noah never asked about the Haitian again. They were the company's dream team.

When Gabriel looked back on it he had mixed feelings. Sometimes he thought it was karma for all the evil he had done. Most days he saw it as a blessing. He certainly had never been a man of God, but if there was one- he or she or whoever had sent him life. A purpose.

Gabriel and Noah were sent to check out a situation in New York. Someone was selling a form of "plastic surgery" only without scars, anesthesia, or a license in medicine. The intel they had looked like this woman, Mariam Pratt, could take years off someone's life- literally. What their information failed to say was that she had many bodyguards with many abilities. It was a hiccup in the assignment, but with all the abilities that Gabriel had, it took a matter of minutes before they were at the door of the office on the top floor.

Gabriel didn't see the woman coming at them from the side. But he felt her. The power that eminated from Miriam Pratt was unlike anything he had encountered before. It was no wonder that she could make a living off of it, there was so much to share. It took him a moment to snap out of it. It was the first time in a year that Sylar came close to take him over, even if only for a few seconds.

Those few precious seconds were all it took for the woman to grab Noah. His first thought was that she would use her power to age him further, kill him with time. But in the blink of an eye there was a baby in the woman's hands. Without missing a beat, Gabriel used his power to take the baby, Noah, and slam the her against the wall, knocking her unconscious.

It was so painful for him to know that his only weakness was the reason it happened. If he hadn't been so mesmerized by Miriam's power he could have seen her and stopped it all from happening. Angela didn't allow him much time to greive. After locking Miriam in Level 5, she found him in his apartment upstairs, rocking baby Noah.

"Gabriel, it is important to remember the same Noah you and I have worked with is gone. However, I am entrusting you with the responsibilty of caring for him until he is fit and ready to rejoin the company, in whatever capacity that may be."

And that was that. He was left to raise his mentor from infancy. He struggled with it at first. He felt unfit to raise him. To be "daddy." He knew now how Noah must have felt all those years raising Claire. To love someone so much and know they could, and would be, taken away from you at any time, Gabriel tried to make amends with it. Noah had a place and he would be even better at his job. And then it all went to hell.

When he first started walking, Noah would walk right to Gabriel and hang onto him with that death grip baby's had that rivaled even superstrength. Not long after, he started babbling. None of it made sense except when he woke up at night. Gabriel could have sworn he was saying "Da", but the pain in his heart turned that line of thinking far far away.

It was new years day when the shit really hit the fan. He had been folding and putting clothes away while Noah played in his crib. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Noah pulled himself up gripping the rail and called out to him: "Daddy."

And now he knew why and how Noah could run and take Claire away with him. Surely Angela Petrelli knew that he would do the same. He knew that she probably had him under surveillence. He would have to wait until Noah was older and could defend himself. He would give him a life away from all of this.

Over time, he had something planned out with Peter. Of course, Peter had his own problems to deal with, but his relationship with his neice drove him to have mercy and sympathy on his newfound brother.

"Daddy!" His heart twisted everytime he heard that.

"Hey buddy!" Gabriel scooped the boy into his arms. "You sleep good?"

"Can I have waffles?"

Gabriel whipped some up, cursing silently when the doorbell rang.

"Peter!" He greeted his younger brother, "I wish you told me you were coming, I would have made more."

He was stupid. Hopelessly pathetic. Noah saw it before he did.

"Uncle Peter, where's your scar?"

And that was when Gabriel Gray's world came to an end, along with the life of Noah. His boy; his son; his purpose.

And just as it had all begun...

It all ended with Noah.


End file.
